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Michele Olson

Apple Valley, MN
Commenter for
5 years 8 weeks

Recent Comments

Posted on 05/15/13 at 02:02 pm in response to Exploring Swede Hollow, once a neighborhood carved out of the wild

.... was a way of saying a person was upwardly mobile and getting out of the Hollow. Hamms, the brewer, actually did living in Swede Hollow for a time and failed in his business attempts until he inherited the brewery. He never really left the Hollow, building a mansion that overlooked it. It's no longer there; it burned down. But if you wander the little streets behind the Swede Hollow Cafe you'll find the little park and historic marker.

Posted on 05/09/13 at 06:57 pm in response to Historic 75-59 House vote clears way for Minnesota same-sex marriage

I tuned into the debate for a short time this afternoon and was impressed by the civility of the conversation. I am awed by those who voted contrary to the party line, and I am humbled by the strength and courage of the people who fought for this bill.

Definitely a proud day.

Posted on 02/07/13 at 03:35 pm in response to Gun advocates vent over proposed restrictions on assault weapons

Who are these people who have men calling the house and threatening to kill them, and what kind of world do they live in, that they all seem to think grabbing the gun is the answer? What a drama.

If the police didn't respond properly, then the answer isn't more guns, the answer is getting things changed at the police department so nobody else goes through something like that. We lived in a bunker-down society once: it was called the Dark Ages.

I will agree that gun control...

Posted on 12/10/12 at 09:54 pm in response to Has casino money improved lives on Minnesota’s Indian reservations?

I'm seeing talk about community centers, but I see nothing about schools in the article, did I miss it? I don't know the ins-and-outs of treaties, but it seems to me if I were a member of any of these tribes, the LAST aid I'd want to educate my kids is from the federal government, after the abysmal history of federal education on the reservations.

Hopefully, there will be more in the future installments.

Posted on 11/16/12 at 12:09 pm in response to Kurt Bills returns to his classroom after U.S. Senate loss

Bills has only to look to himself to blame for his loss; in his appearances with Amy Klobuchar, he was rude, insulting and downright unpleasant. That doesn't seem to play well with Minnesota voters. We may be aggressive on the roadways, but we like "civil" in our politics.

I've heard positive feedback about his teaching, so I'm going to assume he doesn't behave that way in the classroom.

Posted on 11/14/12 at 03:35 pm in response to Food Stamp Challenge: Try living on $31.50 for food for a week

Some things that might not be understood by the readers here, is that poverty is often a full-time job in itself. Sure, it's better to shop around ... but you have to be able to afford a car, which many people don't, or you're paying for bus fare and lugging heavy bags. If you have a job (or two, or three), time makes the whole enterprise extremely problematical.

Coupons: from where? Can you afford the newspaper? Can you afford the ink to print them online? Can you afford a...

Posted on 11/08/12 at 02:04 pm in response to Same-sex marriage: 'Minnesota, in particular ... is proof the tide has turned'

Watching the tears and joyful disbelief in the "Vote No" crowd Tuesday tonight, my first thought was, what has society done to them, that they can be so overwhelmed by vindication from their fellow citizens? My second thought, tearing up myself, was "Glory, glory, hallelujah!"

Posted on 11/08/12 at 01:37 pm in response to GOP legislative 'losers' and DFL 'winners' take decidedly different tacks

They compromised their principles (if they had any to begin with) to please the GOP party and the Tea Party trend, and used up two years preaching a gospel of hate and inequality. It's a slippery slope, once we take that first step; self-honesty is usually one of the first things to go. They could be minor characters in a Shakespeare tragedy. But only minor.

Posted on 11/07/12 at 10:58 pm in response to Republicans try to figure out what went wrong with legislative races

Here's where you stop going wrong:

Stop believing in exclusivity. Stop voting people off the island: he's not a real Republican, she's not a real American, they're not really a couple.

Embrace what is different and frightening for you..

The mean girl act might work on the playground and on Facebook, but it doesn't work in the election booth.

Get back to fiscal responsibility, not telling people how to live their lives.

The Minnesota Republicans badly...

Posted on 10/08/12 at 11:18 am in response to Advocates for poor register homeless voters, worry about ID amendment

It's hard to explain homelessness to people who have never experienced it. And while I understand why people think it's important to keep elections honest, I sometimes think that underneath it all, people don't believe that homeless people deserve a say. I think, if we aren't careful, we're going to move back to the time when only landed gentry had a vote.